This Earth Day, Facebook is empowering people to get informed and take action on climate change. We are also marking a milestone as our global operations are now supported by 100% renewable energy.
To better understand people’s perspectives towards climate change, we ran a survey on Facebook in over 30 countries and territories, in partnership with the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. In each of the countries where we collected data, we found that more than three-quarters of people believe that climate change is happening, but fewer understand it is caused mostly by human activities. More than 6 in 10 respondents in all countries say they want more information about climate change.
We believe that connecting people with credible and creative content can help them learn more about an issue and inspire them to get involved.
Here are some examples of the content we’re promoting on our platforms over the next week.
- Earth Day livestream: We’re partnering with EARTHDAY.ORG to bring their virtual event to our Climate Science Information Center starting at 12:00PM ET on April 22. The event will include world leaders, public figures, grassroots activists, musicians and more talking about climate action and ways we can all get involved.
- Earth Day programming on Oculus: From Machu Picchu and Antarctica to Kenya, Borneo and Raja Ampat, there’s plenty to explore in virtual reality. Immersive documentaries bring the necessities of conservation to life in a new way, while social streaming in Venues lets you share the experience with friends. Read our Oculus blog to learn more.
- Earth Day on Instagram: Our @Instagram, @Creators, @InstagramforBusiness and @Shop accounts will highlight relevant creators, small businesses and educational resources throughout the week.
Actions You Can Take
Earth Day marks the anniversary of the start of the environmental movement that began in 1970. Today, we need to address global challenges like the climate crisis. Here’s how we’re making it easier for people to take action.
Sign up to volunteer: Just in time for Earth Day, and to mark National Volunteering Month in April, we’re launching volunteer sign-ups to make it easier for organizations to find volunteers and for people to sign up for opportunities on Facebook. Starting in a few cities, people will be able to use Community Help to find nearby opportunities like planting trees in a park or picking up trash off a beach. People can also start drives to collect and donate essential items, such as food and clothes, which are some of the main contributors to landfill waste.
Raise funds for a cause you care about: Create a fundraiser for your favorite environmental organization and, as always, 100% of donations raised on our platform will go directly to the nonprofit. Facebook Fundraisers created April 15 to 22 for Project Drawdown, a nonprofit seeking to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions as quickly, safely and equitably as possible, will receive $10 contributions from sustainable outerwear brand Askov Finlayson. To date, more than 3.5 million people have donated over $130 million through fundraisers on Facebook and Instagram to combat climate change and support environmental protection.
Shop eco-friendly: April 17-25, environmental organizations including Jaden Smith and Drew Fitzgerald’s 501CTHREE, Coldplay x One Tree Planted Merch, Mark Ruffalo’s The Solutions Project and Adrian Grenier’s Lonely Whale are launching Shops just in time for Earth Day so people can shop eco-friendly products to support these organizations.
And you can always buy and sell pre-loved items on Facebook Marketplace — from bicycles and plants to clothes and home decor. In fact, there are more than 500,000 environmentally friendly and up-cycled items listed on Marketplace in the US, including furniture, household items and gardening supplies.
Visit National Parks virtually: Messenger and Portal are working with National Geographic on new 360 backgrounds in honor of National Parks Week and Earth Day. If you can’t visit Acadia, Canyonlands, Death Valley or Rocky Mountain National Park this year, you can still experience the beauty and wonder of each by taking a virtual trip while you’re in a Room or on video calls in the Messenger app and on Portal. We’re also rolling out additional Earth Day features on Messenger, including new 360 backgrounds, chat themes and stickers designed and illustrated by Lucas Wakamatsu.
Share your support to protect the planet on WhatsApp: On Earth Day, we’re introducing a new “Stand up for Earth” sticker pack on WhatsApp featuring images that highlight some of the environmental challenges we’re facing around the world and encouraging actions like recycling, reducing electricity and saving water.
100% Renewable Energy and Net Zero Emissions
We recognize the urgency of climate change and have worked to reduce our company’s environmental footprint over the past 10 years. Today we’re announcing that as of 2020, Facebook’s operations are supported by 100% renewable energy and have reached net zero emissions. In just the last three years, we have reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by 94%, exceeding our 75% reduction goal.
We set these goals in 2018, and today, we are one of the largest corporate buyers of renewable energy. We have contracts in place for more than six gigawatts of wind and solar energy across 18 states and five countries. All 63 projects are new and located on the same electrical grids as the data centers they support.